The Pre-Match Preamble – Gameweek 5

I seem to find more and more reasons to hate the early international break. Apart from the obvious issue of sifting the phantom injury setbacks, I find the Gameweeks that follow are most uncomfortable and unsatisfying.

There’s another by-product of the two-week Premier League hiatus: the fact that so many throw in their Wildcard, revolutionising their teams to align with the top targets that have emerged. Regardless of points tallies, it can leave the rest of us feeling just that little bit inadequate.

I’m definitely suffering from “Wildcard envy”. While I’m fighting the urge to covet my neighbour’s manservant, ox and donkey, I can’t help but admire his post-Wildcard squad.

I should be content: my initial lineup has performed well. I managed to anticipate the Diego Costa explosion, whilst jumping on Aaron Ramsey, Raheem Sterling and Branislav Ivanovic; I even got it right with Alan Hutton. My line-up is far from perfect (hello, Jordan Mutch) but it wasn’t quite damaged enough to warrant that Gameweek 3 Wildcard.

However, now I’m looking around me and, more significantly, above me, in mini-leagues and gazing wantonly at the squads on show. These guys have managed to squeeze in similar names, alongside assets I’ve missed: Cesc Fabregas and Graziano Pelle in particular.

When I look at what others are set to progress with from this point, I’m struggling to see how I can keep up. This is a schoolboy error in Fantasy Football terms. It pays to avoid checking in on rivals at this point – I often tell myself that it’s wise to don the blinkers in order to avoid being lured into “hollywood transfers” and points spends in a bid to restore parity.

Of course, I have that Wildcard tucked away but I know from past seasons what a curious curse this can be. When you resist the temptation to lay it down in the international break, it burns away in your pocket, as you wait for the bottom to fall out of your world or that perfect opportunity to use it to your advantage.

I can’t help but wonder if I should have thrown it down and sealed the kind of squad I now admire, whilst attempting to reassure myself that there will be another optimum time for me to bring it into play.

Yes. That inevitable Sunderland double Gameweek where Adam Johnson is “essential”. That always works out really well.